In a Rare Court Challenge to Its Abortion Ban, Brazil Grapples with Its Own Version of Roe vs. Wade

December 11, 2017

(Los Angeles Times) – Debate over abortion is nothing new in Latin America, where laws banning the procedure have driven millions of women to do it themselves or have it performed clandestinely. But for five days last month, the controversy had a face in Brazil: Rebeca Mendes Silva Leite, the first woman in this staunchly Christian nation to fight for her own abortion in court. Six weeks pregnant, the 30-year-old law student didn’t want another child. She already had two small boys, and support from their father barely covered the rent. If she were forced to take time off from school, she would lose her scholarship and have to drop out.